G.O.P. Makes Gains In Senate, but Majority Eludes Party's Grasp

Published: November 3, 2010

Republicans improved their lot in the Senate on Tuesday but were foiled by Democrats in a few key states with a high number of independent voters in their bid to capture both houses of Congress.

By adding seats in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Wisconsin, Republicans narrowed the gap with Democrats. They maintained control in states like Florida, Kentucky and New Hampshire.

But in some states where they had visions of victory, Republicans came up short -- notably in Nevada, where the majority leader, Harry Reid, eked out a win over Sharron Angle, and in Connecticut and West Virginia. California, Delaware and Vermont were also triumphs for the Democrats.

In West Virginia, the Democratic governor, Joe Manchin III, defeated the Republican businessman John Raese for the seat once held by the late Robert C. Byrd. Mr. Manchin's victory was widely seen as vital to Democratic control of the Senate.

''Tomorrow starts the rebuilding of America,'' Mr. Manchin told a jubilant and relieved crowd in downtown Charleston, carrying on with his outsider appeal. ''We acknowledge that Washington is broken,'' he said, pledging to work with any lawmakers who were willing to forget party labels and ''put America first.''

In a closely watched race in Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey, a Republican former congressman, beat Representative Joe Sestak, a Democrat, by a narrow margin -- 51 percent to 49 percent.

Dan Coats, a Republican who left the Senate more than a decade ago for a career in lobbying, returned Indiana's seat to his party, while John Boozman became the second Republican from Arkansas to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction, beating the incumbent Blanche Lincoln. In another Republican pickup, Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota handily defeated Tracy Potter, a Democratic state senator, to fill an open seat now held by a Democrat.

In Kentucky, the Tea Party candidate Rand Paul prevailed over the state attorney general, Jack Conway, leaving that seat in Republican control after a nasty midterm battle. In Florida, Marco Rubio easily beat both a Democrat and an independent to maintain Republican control of the open seat in Florida.

Mr. Paul, an ophthalmologist and a son of Representative Ron Paul of Texas, was among the Tea Party's first upset victories when he prevailed in the May primary by a large margin to fill the seat vacated by Senator Jim Bunning, who is retiring. Mr. Paul's general election campaign was often rocky -- his criticism of President Obama's censure of BP after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and his questioning of some aspects of the Civil Rights Act drew fire.

But Mr. Paul, a prolific fund-raiser, benefited from his decision to largely stop speaking about his positions and, perhaps more important, from the backlash against his opponent, who ran advertisements questioning Mr. Paul's Christianity.

In Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican turned independent, was forced to mount a fight against both sides of the political spectrum in his race against Representative Kendrick B. Meek, a Democrat, and Mr. Rubio whose fiery star power drew support across a wide a swath of demographic groups, according to exit polls.

In less volatile races, Senator Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, held on to his seat, and in South Carolina, the Republican Jim DeMint cruised to victory over the Democrat Alvin Greene, who -- unemployed, indicted and resistant to campaigning -- posed no threat. In Ohio, Representative Rob Portman won the open Senate seat formerly held by his fellow Republican George V. Voinovich, defeating Lee Fisher, the lieutenant governor.

Yet in spite of enormous spending and an aggressive effort, Republicans were unable to make the sale in several key states, either because those states were far more divided than largely gerrymandered House districts where Republicans prevailed, or because the party nominated candidates who were ultimately unable to close the deal with a more heterogeneous general electorate than the one they faced in the primaries.

Yet Democrats were bedeviled in some states that Mr. Obama won in 2008. The strong Republican opposition demonstrated disaffection among the coveted independent voters who broke for Mr. Obama that year.

Further, in contrast to the undoing in the House, which grew like a wave across the country, the Senate races unfolded bit by incredible bit, with a remarkable number too close to call when the polls opened Tuesday.

Early in the primary season, Utah started the mini-trend of incumbents with deep party roots falling to upstarts. It continued into Alaska and Pennsylvania, where a Republican and a Democrat, respectively, were sent packing by their parties. In Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, the Republican and a foe of Ms. Palin, had to resort to a write-in campaign.

In Delaware, the story was similar: although Michael N. Castle was not a Senate incumbent, he was a respected and long-serving Republican congressman who was expected to prevail over Ms. O'Donnell and whichever Democratic nominee emerged. Instead, Democrats were able to maintain a badly needed Senate seat, one that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had occupied for more than 30 years -- and that they had more or less kissed goodbye several months ago.

Some Democrats paid a price with voters for their role in passing the health care bill, which helped to build a sense around the nation, stoked to great effect by Republicans, that a Democratic majority was shoving costly legislation down voters' throats.

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, leveraged his savvy with Senate procedure, which helped slow things down and contribute to the image of a do-nothing Senate, and his ability to rally his party around his vision to keep Democrats from enjoying Republican support on legislation.

Across the country, jobs and the economy were foremost among voters' concerns. Nearly half of voters interviewed in exit polls in Florida said they were worried that their home, or that of a relative, would be foreclosed on. More than half said they were very worried about the condition of the national economy over the next year.

In a stinging defeat for Democrats on Mr. Obama's home turf, Mark Steven Kirk, a Republican and longtime member of Congress representing Chicago's affluent northern suburbs, won a narrow victory over his Democratic rival, Alexi Giannoulias, the state treasurer, whom the president had endorsed.

Mr. Obama, who remains popular in Illinois, campaigned for Mr. Giannoulias as recently as last weekend. And that was seen by many political observers here as a boon to Mr. Giannoulias in a contentious, nail-biting race that had been an official tossup for weeks.

''Losing is not easy,'' said Mr. Giannoulias, who lost his composure for a moment during his remarks at a downtown Chicago hotel. ''It's not something you expect, which is probably why I didn't write a speech.''

PHOTO: Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican who ran as a write-in candidate, hugged a supporter on Tuesday. (PHOTOGRAPH BY LOREN HOLMES FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)
MAP: CHART: The Races for the U.S. Senate